From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpatricianpa‧tri‧cian /pəˈtrɪʃən/ adjective 1 CLASS IN SOCIETYtypical of a member of the highest class in society a patrician manner2 SHPGObelonging to the high class of people that governed in ancient Rome —patrician noun [countable] → plebeian1
Examples from the Corpus
patrician• Originally, ancestor-worship and its attendant family structure were confined to the patrician class.• But his presence was every bit as formidable in its modest way as that of the patrician Heifetz.• Peterson's patrician image• It was impossible for Stevenson, the patrician intellectual, and somebody like Sen.• There the master is a humane aristocrat possessed of a fine library, progressive opinions and a patrician kindness.• Here, mostly you just get right up their patrician noses.• Nicky is not quite a chip off the old patrician Oppenheimer block.• Yet other friends point out that Rawls comes from an old southern family and has a patrician sense of noblesse oblige.Origin patrician (1400-1500) French patricien, from Latin patricius, from patres “senators”, from pater “father” 